Fire-fighting apparatus.



PATENTED MAR. 10; 1903.

4 sums-sum 1.

R N, M

E. F. SANFORD. FIRE FIGHTING APPARATUS.

APPIIOATION FILED APR 16 1907 wir/vEssES ATTORNEYS- 1 PATENTED MAR. 10, 1908.

B. P. SANFORD. J1EE 'FIGHT-ING APPARATUS.

'APPLIoATIoNfiLnD APB.16,1907. I

4SHEETSI3ET,.2

- WITNESSES uv VE/V 7'01? idyazifargaiy Janiolcl In M a ATTORNEYS PATENTED MAR-I10, 1908. B. P. SANFORD. g

FIRE FIGHTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.16.19)7.

W/ TNE SSE S A TTOHNEYS {SHEETS-SHEETS.

l 1 5. E lbyazi/ 'azzczlmfhnford EDGAR F. sANFoRD, or MEROED, CALIFORNIA.

FIRE-FIGHTING APPARATUS. 4

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented iviamh 1o, 190sv Application filed April 16, 1907. Serial No. 368,568.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR FRANCIS SAN- FORD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Merced, in the county of Merced and State of California, have invented a new comparatively short I which and Im roved Fire-Fighting Apparatus, of which t e following is a full, clear, and exact description.

- The invention relates to ladder and hose trucks, and its object is to provide a new and improved fire fighting ap aratus, preferably 'n the form of a motor ve icle, and arranged to permit of conveniently carrying fire.laders, hose and a chemical tank, and allowing remo val of the same for immediate use in a time. The invention consists of novel features and parts and combinations of the same,

will be more. fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represen ed in the accompanying drawings forming a art of this specification, in which similar 0 aracters ofvreference indicate corresponding. parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a plan view of theimprovement; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, parts being broken out and parts being in section; Fig. 3 is an enlarged rear end elevation of the improvement Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section,

tank and means for supporting the same, the

spaced apart in a transverse section being on the line 44 of Fig. 5, and Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same, parts being in section.

v The vehicle A on which the apparatus is mounted is preferably of the motor driven type, as indicated in the drawings, and the said'vehicle is provided with seats B, B direction, to

form a space or a passage for the reception of fire ladders U resting on supports D attached.

to the vehicle and arranged in longitudinal alinement' with the space between the said seats B and: B. By the arrangement described ladders G of approximately the length of the motor vehicle can be conveniently supported without obstructing the ingress or egress o'f the driver, firemen or other persons to the. seats B, B, at the same time allowing the driver or other persons to convenier'itly manipulate the motor machinery.

()n the vehicle A in the rear of the seats B, B and below the ladders C is arranged a hose rack E, preferably nthv form ofa box- Figs. 1 and 2. The hose sections shelf with t lengthof the shelves, so as of "the chemical when moving like structure open at the top and rear, and provided at the sides with guideways F, F, F F and F located one above the other and adapted to support movable shelves Gr each carrying fire hose sections H. The shelves G are r'eferably in tlze form of slatted shelves aving cross bars G" projecting beyond the side slats and resting on the corre-- sponding guideways F, F, F, F and F, as will be readily understood by reference to H are coiled on the several shelves in such a manner that the convolutions are arranged one alongside the other, thus accommodatinga large amount of hose in a comparatively short space, at the same time allowing convenient cou ling of the hose section on one e hose section on the next following shelf above or below, as the case maiy e.

n practice, the hose sections are of a predetermined "length corresponding to the to bring thecouplings to the rear ends of the shelves, to allow convenient coupling of one hos'e section with the other. In a like manner the arrangement permits of coiling the hose section on one shelf from one side to the other,'a ndthe next following hose section in the reverse di-' rection on the shelf next below or above, so as to form one continuoushos which can be r b a l rernoyed from the hose rack, either by running a hydrant towards the burning structure orom the at i burning structure towards a hydrant atal...

distant place. In either caselthe continuous hose can readily pay out of the hose rack E when holding one end of the hose amlmoving the vehicle along.

Normally the shelves G are locked against longitudinal movement by suitable locking devices G at thercar ends of the shelves and engaging corresponding keepers on the sides of the hose rack E.

In case the two lowermost shelves G and their hose sections have it is desired to drop the shelves G of the next following guidcways F", F and F so as to engage the same with the guidoways F, F and F, respectively, the following arrangement is made.

Each of the guidewe-ys F, F, F and F is provided with vertically disposed slots or openings F for the passage of the projecting ends of the cross bars G of the shelves G,

been removed, and

the latterafter unlocking the same, either in a forward or a rearward direction; thus, when it is desired to drop the shelf on the guidcway 1 onto the guidcway F it is only necessary to move the shelf G on the guideway F" forwardly until the cross bars G register with the slots F so that this shelf G with the hose thereon drops down onto the next following guideway F, as indicated in Fig. 2, and when this shelf is now drawn forward its cross bars G finally registor with the slots on the guideway F so that the shelf drops down onto the lowermost guideway F". In a like manner the next following shelf G on the guideway F can be successively dropped onto the guideways F and F and finally the shelf on the uppermost guideway F can be successively dropped until it reaches" the guideway F". Now in order to permit the successive dropping of the shelves from one guideway to another the slots F' -in the successive guideways F, F, F and F are staggered, as plainly indicated in 2, and the cross bars G are correspondingly spaced apart to register with the slots F on moving the shelves G either rearward or forward, as above explained.

A chemical tank I containing a lire eX- tinguishing fluid is removably carried on the rear end of the vehicle A, and this chemical tank I is provided with a drum I for containing the chemical (see Fig. 4), the shaft I of the drum being journaled in a stand J, and on the said shaft l are held supporting bearing blocks K, as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5. On the drum 1 is adapted to wind a hose L connected. at one end by a valve ll with the interior of the drum 1, to allow the lire extinguishing fluid to pass out of the drum l" through the valve l/ when opened and into the hose L to the nozzle thereof to extinguish a fire. I

Normally the valve 11 is closed and the hose L is wound on the drum 1, and the entire chemical tank I is supported on the rear end of the vehicle, and for this purpose the following arrangement is made: The blocks K previously mentioned lit into open bearings N held on swing arms 1\ extending longitudinally and fulcrnmed at N to the vehicle body, and the said swing arms are connected with ropes or cables 0 extending upwardly and winding' on a'drum O journaled in suitable bearings on the vehicle A. The ends of the drum 0 are provided with handles or crank arms 0 under the control of the firemen, to allow the arms to swing downward until the stand J rests on the ground, :the bearings N- then being open at the rear, so that when the vehicle A is drawn forward the blocks K move out of the bearings N and the chemical tank 1 remains standing on the ground while the whicle A moves forward. In. a like manner when the vehicle is backed up the bearings N engage the blocks K, and then by the operator turning the crank arms 0 the ropes or cables 0 are wound up on the drum O, to impart an upward swinging motion to the swing arms N, with a view to lift the vehicle tank 1 oil the ground and to hold it sup )orted from the rear end of the vehicle, as plainly indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. When the swing arms N reach a horizontal position against the under side of the vehicle body, then the free ends of the said swing arms are engaged by catches P, to lock the swing arms in a raised position. The catches P are fulcrumed on the vehicle body and are pressed on by springs P so as to hold. the catches in engagement with the swing arms N The upper ends of the catches l are pivotally connected by links 1. with arms P held on a transversely extending shaft P" journaled in suitable bearings arranged on the vehicle body, and on the said shaft P' are arranged handles P adapted to be taken hold of by a fireman, to move the same forward, with a view to disengage the catches P from the swing arms N in'nnediately previous to lowering the chem.- ical tank I, as before explained. Stops Q, held on the rear end of the vehicle )roject close to the rear faces of the blocks l so as to hold the same in the bearings N and thus prevent accidental disengagement of the chemical tank I from its support 011 the rear end of the motor vehicle.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A lire lighting apparatus comprising a vehicle having seats spaced apart in a transverse dircction, and ladder supports arranged in longitudinal alinement with the space between the said seats, to allow of supporting ladders the entire length of the vehicle without obstructing the said seats,

2. A lire fighting apparatus comprising a vehicle, hose shelves arranged on the vehicle one above the other and on which the hose is coiled with the convolutions located side by side, and means in connection with the shelves and the vehicle for permitting the said shelves to be placed at different heights in the vehicle without removal therefrom, said means being operated by the longitudinal shifting of theshelvcs.

3. A fire. fighting apparatus comprising a vehicle, and a plurality of horizontally arranged parallel hose shelves in connection with the vehicle and on which the hose is coiled, and means in connection with the vehicle and the shelves for permitting the said shelves to be moved verti wally without removal from the vehicle, said means being operated by the longitudinal shifting of the shelves.

4. A fire lighting apparatus provided with a. hose rack comprising longitudinally ex tending guideways arranged one above the llik) of hose, the said .uideways having means to 1 from one guid'eway to the next lower one.

other; and shelves slidably held on the said guideways and adapted to support sections allow dropping 0 a shelf from one guidewayto the next lower one.

5. A fire fighting apparatus provided with a hose rack comprising longitudinally extending guideways'having spaeedvertical slots, and shelves for supporting the hose and having cross bars adapted to rest on the said guideways and adapted toregister with the said slots, to allow ofdropping a shelf 6. A fire fighting apparatus provided with a hose r'aek comprising longitudinally extending slots, an shelves for supporting the hose and having cross bars adapted to rest on the said guideways and adapted to register with the said slots to allow of dropping a shelf from one guideway to the next lower one, the said slots of successive guideways belng staggered.

guideways having spaced vertical,

In testimony whereof I have signed my 

